Will Consumerism Change Its Face in the Future?

Will Consumerism Change Its Face In The Future?
IntroductionOn the one hand, plenty of written books and articles on the subject of consumerism should make it no big difficulty to write an essay devoted to this topic. But on the other hand, it would take me a year to review even not all of them but the most popular ones, which is definitely beyond my timeframe. Moreover, the amount of ideas already expressed in those works make it harder for any non-specialist to come up with something new. Still I will try to make my own conclusions on the impact and future prospects of the phenomenon, rather than just describe here some scientific points of view. Consumerism is a product of Late Modernity, even though the basic consumption of goods existed since people had started to produce goods not only for their household’s needs but for sale as well. A major role in the development of mass consumption was contributed by the creation of the assembly line, which was initially invented by an automobile-maker Ransom E. Olds in 1901 and later improved by Henry Ford (although the latter became world-known “father of automotive assembly line”). Ford’s famous phrase “I will build a car for the great multitude” perfectly fits the concept of consumer society. From the point of industrial production when it became possible to significantly reduce the production costs due to economies of scale, more and more people could afford to themselves larger diversity of goods, not only those for basic needs. This probably made a groundbreaking shift in consumer’s psychology, making the buying ritual not only the necessary activity to sustain the living but increasingly turning it into the means of social differentiation and self-identification. However, I would view globalization, which has gained its momentum in Postmodernity years, as the real driver of consuming behavior, enabling producers and consumers from all over the world to become the participants of the integrated global market, which has almost no geographical or commodity limits. The development of marketing tools, especially advertising technologies, has further forced the consuming process to grow to unprecedented scale, which together with the tendency of constantly increasing population give grounds to the serious universal concerns. Consumer society might be characterized by its use of leisure time for spending money on such activities as shopping, travel, entertainment and for its belief that owning things is the primary means of achieving happiness. In such society individual lifestyles and identity become linked to consuming activities, therefore consumerism can be viewed as the acceptance of consumption behavior as the way of self-development and self-realization. It is important to understand that the roots of consumerism lie in the social structure and social behaviour to find out the methods and policies of decreasing the effects that consumption produces on our being. Though consumerism can be viewed from different perspectives – political, economical or social – in my research I will mostly concentrate on how it is understood and perceived by the social sciences. As we all are already the part of consuming society and we have to experience in different ways the impacts of that phenomenon on our life, I think the subject might be of real interest and relevance to study. Therefore I am going to make an insight in the theories of consumerism, then define the influence it may have on the various aspects of society and finish the essay with my conclusions on whether it is possible to change the consumer profile in the future. Theories of consumerism and its impact on the society

To differentiate various theories on consumption, I will divide the concepts into three approaches: structural, individual and based on social practices. A structural approach considers the influence of social norms, built infrastructure and large political (such as the government) and economic...

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Consumerism: Using coupons to save money
Gina York
ENG102
May 23, 2012
Sarah Giragosian
Consumerism: Using coupons to save money
Consumers face daily struggles. However, many would say that the one thing they struggle with the most is how to find ways to stretch their paycheck enough to cover the bills and put food on the table. In fact, despite having two paychecks coming in, the average American family is still unable to make ends meet. While we can eliminate some things from our daily lives, such as the $5 cup of coffee at the local “Java Joe’s”, we cannot eliminate our daily need for food and basic necessities. Consequently, with the continued downturn in the economy, people have had to become more creative in finding ways to save money. Using coupons to aid in discounting products is widely becoming the method of choice.
Consumers have had to make some very hard decisions based on income and necessities. We have all had to “tighten our belts” and “watch our pennies”. “During these hard economic times, many people are looking for new ways to save money on as many things as possible. Groceries, electric and other utility bills, as well as on other items like diapers and baby care supplies, cleaning supplies and paper products.” (How to Save Money With Grocery Coupons, 1999-2012) Along with the ever present thought of saving and keeping our hard earned dollars in mind, many have returned to the days of our...

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The almighty impulse
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...﻿The Effects of Consumerism
Posted by Amitabh Shukla on July 2, 2009 in World Economy
Consumerism is becoming the hallmark of most world economies. In the West, it is a common phenomenon, but now even developing countries in the world are resorting to it.
Consumerism refers to the consumption of goods at a higher rate. The economy is judged by the production and selling of goods. The gross national product is the sum total of goods and services produced for a specific period at a specific time. The more goods produced and consumed by society the higher the growth rate of the economy. The prosperity of a nation is judged by the per capita income of individuals residing in it. The economy is considered to be” doing well” if the purchasing power of the people is high.
In consumer society, people replace their goods with newer ones. They purchase goods, use them and throw them away. New goods when they become old are replaced by newer ones. The question of repair does not arise People have money to purchase goods in plenty. In case, they do not do so as it leads to recession and depression and also results in unemployment.
What are the effects of the consumerism?
Consumerism is appreciated in Western economies since a person’s standard of living is valued by his or her material possessions. There are certain positive effects such as:
Positive Consumerism Effects:
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1.Whats consumerism ? Consumerism is defined by the preoccupation of society with the acquisition of consumer goods . Good morning/afternoon fellow classmates , today I’ll be discussing how the powerful images conveyed in Bruce Dawe’s texts Americanized and Abandonment of Autos, and a cartoon by Clay Butler, raise issues and concerns about consumerism. | 2. To start off, Bruce dawe’s text Americanized effectively portrays negative views on consumerism. Dawe uses an extended metaphor which involves a mother and a child symbolizing America and less powerful countries. The significance of using a mother and a child effectively conveys how the less powerful countries constantly need guidance from America. |
3.Throughout the poem, it is shown that the mother has power over the child which represents how America dominates them. This again shows us that the smaller countries cannot look after themselves and are heavily influenced by the American lifestyle. the quote “ today, I’ll let you play with mummy’s things “ portrays how the less powerful countries use American products and that the products are constantly seen as a necessity. Dawe effectively uses the idea that the countries will lose their culture and identity through consumerism. | 4. Another text by Bruce Dawe, ‘Abandonment of Autos’ suggests many ideas about consumerism. The poem is a response to the abandonment of a consumer...